Metal Gear launched 35 years ago on Tuesday — I remember the original back-cover advertisement on Marvel Comics of the day — and with that anniversary in mind, Konami says it is “preparing to resume sales of titles that have been temporarily suspended.”
The publisher is referring to Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 (plus any anthologies containing those games), which Konami de-listed in November because its license to historical footage used in the games’ cinematics had expired.
Konami said at the time the de-listings were “a temporary decision,” and it would put the games back on sale again.
Metal Gear, developed and published by Konami, launched July 13, 1987 in Japan for the MSX2 personal computer. Its Nintendo Entertainment System port launched in North America one year later. It is the progenitor of the nine-game Metal Gear and Metal Gear Solid series, whose most recent entry was 2015’s Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Metal Gear was the first game directed by Hideo Kojima, who left Konami in late 2015 following an acrimonious split with his lifelong employer. Konami has since published only one Metal Gear title, 2018’s zombie shooter Metal Gear Survive, which was a critical and commercial bust.